Best SAXOPHONIST

Yes, I know, these artists are not all 'prog'. Personally, my favourite one is Jan Garbarek, as he is the most creative and the most eclectic (he played with musicians from Pakistan, with Zakir Hussain, with Anouar Brahem, with David Torn, with Agnes Buen Garnas...). He has a very unique style and managed to blend jazz with world-music elements with lots of brilliancy. You can't die without having listened to his magic phrase. Good polls ! 

lucas, you evil bastard, forcing me to choose between Zorn and Garbarek...I love Garbarek, have probably 20 ECMs with him on them or leading a band, but I'm gonna take Zorn, partly because I think he's much more true prog than Jan...I love 'Vision' by Shankar with Jan and Palle Mickelborg (sp?).

Elton Dean baby!

How about Ian Underwood?

Shark, I think we are talking strictly Prog here. What about Dick Parry's sax on Money.

David Jackson rocks.  Mel Collins' work on the KC stuff is incredible.

 If it's "strictly prog" (difficult, if not impossible to pin down) Danbo ol' pal, then what is Shorter doing here? Are Spyrogyra (one word) and Weather Report "prog" now? When did prog absorb jazz?

This is symptomatic of the confusion around our age-old question: What the heck is "Progressive Rock" anyway? If "prog" is an abbreviated or contracted form of "progressive rock," where's the rock in the two bands named above? If we are to include jazz fusion here, surely we should also include so-called "new age" music as well! To my ears, Andreas Vollenweider, Patrick O'Hearn, Eddie Jobson (Theme of Secrets), and even Mannheim Steamroller are closer to the sound and spirit of "prog" than the jazz-fusion artists. And what do we do with "world" acts like Baka Beyond, Deep Forest, and Dissidenten? What about Dead Can Dance? What about bands like Steeleye Span, and classic Fairport Convention, who fuse Celtic/traditional and rock? As I've suggested before, with each new barely-qualified inclusion  and sub-genre, the overall heading becomes more meaningless as a category and tool to find similar-sounding music. (A lot of the "prog metal" comes to mind -- before you know it, Sabbath and Cooper & Purple will be here, and others will be pressing for Marilyn Manson --retch -- and Slipknot -- puke!) Whether I like Sabbath et al (I do) doesn't enter into it. We can't just assume that "I like prog, so all that I like is prog." Is electric blues "prog?" Surely it represents a "progression" or augmentation of solo-guitar acoustic blues.... Beethoven was a "progression" upon Hayden. Should he be here? Is all good music that stands out from the majority "prog?"

I don't have the answers -- except when it comes to arranging and recording my own collection -- but I think we'll never resolve this one, because it's a matter of personal taste. I think Zappa was a great musical innovator, satirist, and social critic, but I don't think he belongs here -- he stands on his own. Do you think that Frank would have lumped (lumpy gravy?) himself in with Genesis, Yes, and ELP? The Tubes were closer to the spirit of Zappa (but far below his artistic stature and originality) than Yes were. Shall we add them next? How about David Byrne and Talking Heads? Sparks? Chameleons UK?

Edited by Peter Rideout

shark wrote: A saxophonist poll without heavy-weights like Michael Brecker, Branford Marsalis, David S Ware, Steve Coleman, Sonny Rollins and David Murray? Surely not?!

I saw Dave Murray live twice (one time with Odean Pope). That was amazing!

 Jimbo: Don't you mean "lift" muzac, you lime-sucking tar?

(Sanborn's very talented, though. Not all his stuff is MOTR!)

Peter Rideout wrote:  If it's "strictly prog" (difficult, if not impossible to pin down) Danbo ol' pal, then what is Shorter doing here? Are Spyrogyra (one word) and Weather Report "prog" now? When did prog absorb jazz? This is symptomatic of the confusion around our age-old question: What the heck is "Progressive Rock" anyway? If "prog" is an abbreviated or contracted form of "progressive rock," where's the rock in the two bands named above? If we are to include jazz fusion here, surely we should also include so-called "new age" music as well! To my ears, Andreas Vollenweider, Patrick O'Hearn, Eddie Jobson (Theme of Secrets), and even Mannheim Steamroller are closer to the sound and spirit of "prog" than the jazz-fusion artists. And what do we do with "world" acts like Baka Beyond, Deep Forest, and Dissidenten? What about Dead Can Dance? What about bands like Steeleye Span, and classic Fairport Convention, who fuse Celtic/traditional and rock? As I've suggested before, with each new barely-qualified inclusion  and sub-genre, the overall heading becomes more meaningless as a category and tool to find similar-sounding music. (A lot of the "prog metal" comes to mind -- before you know it, Sabbath and Cooper & Purple will be here, and others will be pressing for Marilyn Manson --retch -- and Slipknot -- puke!) Whether I like Sabbath et al (I do) doesn't enter into it. We can't just assume that "I like prog, so all that I like is prog." Is electric blues "prog?" Surely it represents a "progression" or augmentation of solo-guitar acoustic blues.... Beethoven was a "progression" upon Hayden. Should he be here? Is all good music that stands out from the majority "prog?" I don't have the answers -- except when it comes to arranging and recording my own collection -- but I think we'll never resolve this one, because it's a matter of personal taste. I think Zappa was a great musical innovator, satirist, and social critic, but I don't think he belongs here -- he stands on his own. Do you think that Frank would have lumped (lumpy gravy?) himself in with Genesis, Yes, and ELP? The Tubes were closer to the spirit of Zappa (but far below his artistic stature and originality) than Yes were. Shall we add them next? How about David Byrne and Talking Heads? Sparks? Chameleons UK?

The so-called "New Age" (aka Electronic music) is a sub-genre of progressive music : it includes artists such as Mike Oldfield, Marcus Viana (who played with the symphonic prog band Sagrado Coraçao da terra), and even Tangerine dream and Synergy. Zappa played jazz-fusion, another subgenre of the progressive music, that also includes Bruford, Kenso, Brand X, Mongol...

Mel Collins...David Jackson really but not on poll

Ian Underwood should be mentioned as well.